For me at least, I’m a “Dr. Who will always be David Tennant” no matter if anyone takes over for him. I think its because I never go into the older Dr. Who episodes and I started watching after Christopher Eccleston left. Though I did watch season 1 later, I didn’t attach myself to Eccleston. That being said I talked to others who Tom Baker and Dr. Who go hand in hand. I think, at least for me, I might always love Dr. Who episodes but the ones with Tennant will always be my favorite.
Who fans are identified as “Whovians”
Now that’s out of the way… one thing I need to get straight, I’m not a hardcore Whovian. I am married to a hard core Whovian who’s been watching it since the early seventies.
Things we both find delicious about David Tennant’s portrayal of The Doctor are:
[ul]
[li]He’s a Whovian and you can tell in his unbridled joy in his work
[/li][li]He incorporates all of the other Doctors in his acting. To truly appreciate him, you must watch previous doctors (and not Eccelston)
[/li][li]The chucks he wears are brilliant (thank you wardrobers!)
[/li][/ul]
I’ve noticed a couple of things that have been brought up as far as regeneration goes. You have to understand, Time Lords are mortal in the sense that they can die. And they have a limited number of regenerations. One of the “things” that intrigued us about this new series was how they were going to handle his regeneration if we had yet another incarnation.
The serial The Deadly Assassin established that a Time Lord can regenerate twelve times, for a total of thirteen incarnations. HOWEVER, The Master has managed to circumvent this. If The Doctor can find out how The Master did it, yes, he can live forever and we’ll have Dr. Who into the next century as well. Still, we are still faced with the fact that he is on his tenth incarnation. He has two to go before he dies permanently.
I started watching Who in the late seventies and when it was Tom Baker with Leela as his companion. My husband is a huge fan of Pertwee, the third doctor as I suspect we all grow attached to our “first doctor” 
I love watching Dr. Who with my husband who, when we sit down and begin an episode he’ll say, “Oh my gawd, they’ve brought back the insert race previously seen twenty years ago that I’ve never heard of here” Which then makes me go scurrying for the Who Wiki to catch up to his Whovian geekiness.
Sooo… Fellow Whovians! Do yourselves a favor, if you love Tennant (and he has become quite the big fave in the Hall of Doctor Fame), you’ll appreciate him more by watching past doctors, particularly Baker who he watched and emulates.
YES YES YES! My thoughts exactly when I saw “Blink”. Much as I like Rose, Martha, and even Donna, I’d like a Dr’s companion who’s a little less Eastenders (if that means anything to people across the pond - probably not).
Dr Who has been part of the cultural landscape here in the UK for decades - generations of people grew up hiding behind the sofa when the Daleks and other nasties showed up. Tom Baker was always THE Dr for a lot of people - I lost interest after him. However, I’m back as a big fan with the new series. Like a lot of people I was scpetical, but am really impressed.
It is a little cheesy (and some of RTD’s scripts are a little TOO mad for me), but I guess that’s the price you pay for it being peak-time, family friendly entertainment on a Saturday night - it really reminds me of the days when the entire country would gather round their TV’s to watch the same programme, when we had just the 3 channels.
The new series is very, very subversive, although that’ probably passes a lot of people by. Lots of relevant social and political topics get snuck in. Almost makes me proud to be British (although to go all the way on that would be too undignified)
Also wanted to add my voice to the David Tennant appreciation society here. He’s the best Doctor by far in my view (and as an old “Tom Baker IS the Doctor” type that’s praise indeed). As I suggested in another thread, they’ll be hard pressed to follow him, but I reckon James Callis might be fun
Heh! My mom watches Eastenders on our local PBS station. Of course, we’re about 5 years behind… But, now that I think about it, Rose, Martha, and Donna are all a bit exaggerated.
Dr Who has been part of the cultural landscape here in the UK for decades - generations of people grew up hiding behind the sofa when the Daleks and other nasties showed up. Tom Baker was always THE Dr for a lot of people - I lost interest after him. However, I’m back as a big fan with the new series. Like a lot of people I was scpetical, but am really impressed.
It is a little cheesy (and some of RTD’s scripts are a little TOO mad for me), but I guess that’s the price you pay for it being peak-time, family friendly entertainment on a Saturday night - it really reminds me of the days when the entire country would gather round their TV’s to watch the same programme, when we had just the 3 channels.
I love the fact that “family friendly” programming can still sometimes scare the bejeebers out of me. 'Tis why I’m so excited Moffatt is taking over. I’ve loved RTD’s run (especially his most recent installment “Turn Left”), but I know I’m going to enjoy Moffatt’s tenure as well.
The new series is very, very subversive, although that’ probably passes a lot of people by. Lots of relevant social and political topics get snuck in. Almost makes me proud to be British (although to go all the way on that would be too undignified)
Gotta keep that stiff upper lip, and all! 
But, yeah, I had noticed. Something about the way disasters keep befalling the British government and it’s venerated buildings… not to mention all the bull-headed politicians… and all the talk about unemployment and government aid… and public vanity… Come to think of it, ALL of that was part of “Turn Left”, wasn’t it?
Hey Apollomy - long time…
Yes, social commentary seems to be a big thing with RTD (who also wrote the groundbreaking “Queer as Folk” - so he has a good pedigree in terms of putting controversial socially-relevant TV). Of course Dr Who was always focused on Britain, and they’ve kept that, with the occasional foray to Paris, Manhattan, etc.
Peter Moffat is likely to keep this going, but he seems more interested in the mechanics and paradoxes of time travel, so a little more “proper sci-fi”, not to mention coherent! The recent Library episodes reminded me a lot of Blink, with the time issues, but also with the nature of the story and the creepiness - scary with the “monsters” dealt with in a very simple way - all about tension and implication.
What also strikes me about the new Who is that there is little attempt to provide happy endings or sanitize the storylines to avoid death and destruction. It often seems as if half the world’s population dies every other episode. A-team it ain’t. I have to say I like the darkness of the show, and the darkness of the Dr, which seems to be a new thing - he’s a more complex and ambiguous character than I remember (although that might be to do with when I watched the old ones, as a kid).
Anyway, looking forward to next week’s episode - it’s almost as bad as waiting for the resolution of a BSG cliff-hanger…
The one thing that links Eastenders to BSG? “All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again.” IN BSG it’s a line from prophecy; in EE it’s a guiding framework for storylines. The EE of 5 years ago is the same old craaap as the current stuff. As you can tell, I’m not a fan (and am probably being unfair - actually, no!), but my other half watches it. Grrrr!
I’d like to see a Dr’s assistant who doesn’t have an estuary accent. Nothing against that whole London-Essex-Kent area, but let’s have a change. Someone linguistically representing another part of the UK please!
I like David Tennant as the Doctor so much, I started searching out some of his other performances. So far, I’ve seen Casanova and Blackpool (and of course, HP and the Goblet of Fire. ) Loved them! I did enjoy his lovely Scottish brogue in Blackpool ::wiggles eyebrows:: Though, it was weird to see DT as the “other man”. I’m so used to him as the morally righteous Doctor, and not a sex-crazed detective or philandering playboy.
With Christopher Eccleston, on the other hand, his other roles led me to Doctor Who. I sought out Revenger’s Tragedy because of Eddie Izzard and fell for Eccleston right away. Then as Claude in “Heroes”, he impressed me again. When I heard he was the new Doctor, I had to check it out. I’ve been hooked ever since!
You know that’s his real voice? (Well, I didn’t see Blackpool, but he speaks with a very noticeable Scots accent). I still think, whenever I see him interviewed, that he’s putting it on, and that his real voice is his Dr Who voice. I have to engage rationalism and reign in instinct to correct myself.
Howdie!
Yes, social commentary seems to be a big thing with RTD (who also wrote the groundbreaking “Queer as Folk” - so he has a good pedigree in terms of putting controversial socially-relevant TV). Of course Dr Who was always focused on Britain, and they’ve kept that, with the occasional foray to Paris, Manhattan, etc.
As I’m currently reading Cylons in America, I’ve really come to notice the political and social commentary in my sci-fi. And since I’m a bleeding-heart, I love it and I love RTD for it.
Peter Moffat is likely to keep this going, but he seems more interested in the mechanics and paradoxes of time travel, so a little more “proper sci-fi”, not to mention coherent! The recent Library episodes reminded me a lot of Blink, with the time issues, but also with the nature of the story and the creepiness - scary with the “monsters” dealt with in a very simple way - all about tension and implication.
I’ve loved the plausibility of Moffat’s monsters. The normal becomes terrifying. He must love terrifying 8 yr olds!
What also strikes me about the new Who is that there is little attempt to provide happy endings or sanitize the storylines to avoid death and destruction. It often seems as if half the world’s population dies every other episode. A-team it ain’t. I have to say I like the darkness of the show, and the darkness of the Dr, which seems to be a new thing - he’s a more complex and ambiguous character than I remember (although that might be to do with when I watched the old ones, as a kid).
The darkness of the show is the main thing that keeps me coming back. Well, that and David Tennant’s freckles…
Anyway, looking forward to next week’s episode - it’s almost as bad as waiting for the resolution of a BSG cliff-hanger…
:: plugs ears:: LA LA LA LA! I haven’t seen this week’s episode yet! I’ll be trying to find it as soon as I get home from work!
Ah, yes, I know! I read that he used his natural speaking voice for the role. And I love it! Whenever I talk to my cousins in Perth or Arbroath, I sometimes forget to listen to what they’re saying and just listen to their accents…
Ever see The Second Coming? Eccleston was amazing, as usual, and RTD wrote it as well. Recommended!
Not just 8-year-olds! Stone angels still creep me out!